The present invention relates to a premium class airline passenger seats. One such type of seat is one that is able to adjust between upright and flat seating positions to provide passenger comfort and comply with taxi, take-off and landing seating position requirements. Such passenger seats typically include a seat back and seat pan, linked in motion, supported by a frame and adjustable to the desired seating position by way of a seat recline mechanism.
Another type of premium class seat may include various combinations of a lie flat seat, retractable armrests, bed extension work space and ottoman to create a horizontal space envelope for sleeping. This horizontal space envelope provides an angled sleeping position with a fully forward facing lounge seating position with full recline functionality. The seat arrangement may also provide an aisle side opening closet, sliding privacy screen, minibar, single piece retracting table, integral luggage storage area and wide-screen display monitor in a configuration for business and first class travel.
In both types of seating as presently installed in passenger aircraft, the passenger is required to be seated and restrained by a lap belt in a full upright position for taxi, takeoff, landing, and at any time during flight when so instructed by the flight crew. Only after safety announcements, takeoff and climb to altitude are passengers generally permitted to recline the seat to a lie flat position for rest or sleep. This is necessary because of safety requirements that are dictated by the structure of the seat and the nature of the restraint devices that stabilize the passenger and protect against or minimize injury in the event of turbulence or crash.
On some air routes on which premium lie flat seating is available, the amount of time allotted to sleep is restricted due to the total time between takeoff and landing, and the time required to board the aircraft, stow carry-on luggage, provide safety announcements, take off and climb to altitude. For example, in a flight having a total flight time of six hours, as much as two hours of that time may be taken up with boarding, providing safety announcements, climbing to cruising altitude and then preparing for landing. A passenger desiring to sleep in a fully reclined position must wait until permission is granted to transition the seat into the lie flat position. This is because of the requirement that the seat back remain upright during these portions of the flight which, in turn, is required because the construction of the seat and the passenger restraints provided in current seating designs. Therefore, a substantial amount of time that a passenger might otherwise be able to sleep in a reclined position is not available.
With the exception of medical emergency flights where the patient is tightly strapped to a stretcher, it is not currently permitted for a commercial aircraft passenger to assume a reclined, lie flat position during taxi, takeoff and landing. Use of a seat designed to permit the passenger to take a lie flat position before takeoff would permit the passenger, if desired, to go to sleep even before takeoff. On flights of specific duration, passengers to be seated in premium seating areas could eat a meal, listen to safety instructions and undertake any other necessary tasks or functions immediately before boarding the aircraft, and upon boarding take his or her assigned seat, recline the seat to a lie flat position and go to sleep even before taxi and takeoff. This enhanced capability would appeal to a certain segment of the flying public willing to pay extra for the ability to rest and/or sleep in a prone position for a longer period of time during the flight. In general, a series of air bags that are inflatable to provide protective cushioning during sleep and deflated and retracted when the passenger is not in the lie flat position would be provided as an integral part of the seating structure.
A separate reason for providing the ability to reside in a prone position during taxi, takeoff and landing is to provide enhanced safety to passengers traveling in premium class seating areas. If properly restrained, a lie flat, prone position can provide greater protection against injury by surrounding the passenger with a series of deployable air bags similar to those present in motor vehicles. In other words, an impact instantaneously deploys one or more air bags, which immediately deflate in order to permit egress from the aircraft.